The Human Experiment
by Patriot44
Summary: The 22 campers of TDI thought they were chosen randomly, they weren't. The entire phenomenon that is TDI was orchestrated by a mysterious and somewhat supernatural man who sought to use the show as an example that there is good in everybody.
1. The Bet

**Disclaimer** - All rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network and the creators of TDI. No profit is being made in the making of the fan fiction.

**Patriot44 - **This story presents to us the idea that the 22 campers we know and love were destined to be on the island together by some unknown force. It includes concepts "borrowed" by the ABC show LOST. In this fic, Total Drama Island takes place but not Total Drama Action or Total Drama Musical, I'll explain later

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A man sat alone outside on the beach at Wawanakwa Island, he was brown-haired, wearing a green tunic and eating some fish and fruit. He stared out ahead at a boat that was in the distance, he didn't do anything, just stared, he was deep in thought about the experiment he was just starting to build.

The island was notable in that there was nothing built on it; no dock, no cabins, no mess hall, it was just a natural island.

A second man with blond hair and a black tunic approached and sat down on a rock not far from the brown-haired man.

"Good morning" the blond-haired man said to the brown haired man.

"Good morning, would you like some fish or fresh fruit?"

"No thank you, I ate earlier."

The two men sat in silence for a few moments and stared at the boat.

"So..." the blond-haired man said to the brown-haired man "who are these people you called out here?"

"Contractors, they're going to develop this site."

"Developing it for what?"

The brown-haired man smiled impishly "its part of my experiment."

The blond-haired man scoffed "Oh yes...the experiment where you try to prove that humans are more than monsters who want to kill, destroy and corrupt everything?"

"That's the one; I'm going to show you that they are so much more than that, that they are capable of a sense of friendship, trust and love that you never thought possible."

"It's not possible, it's a pipe dream. If a human meets somebody outside their race, religion, caste, nationality or political ideology; their going to treat them like crap. That's how it is, that's how it has been, that's how it's going to be until the day they annihilate themselves."

The brown-haired man said nothing; instead he took a bite out of his fish, chewed for a long time and swallowed; he then said "My experiment will show that you are misguided."

"How?"

"I shall manipulate events so that one day, a group of young people will come to this island and be forced to live here and undergo trials in a quest for a fabulous reward. At times, they will act like you'd expect them too; they will form fierce rivalries with each other, they will do unpleasant things in order to further their own agendas, they will have the worst of them revealed. But I promise you, they will also do things that surprise you; they shall find friendships and romances with people they normally wouldn't have, they will rely on each other for emotion comfort, they will realize that the real reward was the bonds they made."

The blond-haired man stared at the brown-haired man for a while. "Interesting, and when will this experiment happen?"

"Not now, the time is not right, but it will happen, I promise you that, and the events will play out like I predicted.

"I'll believe it when I see it my friend."

With that said, the blond-haired man stood up. "I must go now, I'm needed elsewhere. It was good to speak to you Michael."

"It was good to speak to you too" replied the man named Michael.

The blond-haired man walks away. Michael finishes eating his breakfast, stands up and looks around at the vacant island where his noble test of humanity was to take place.

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This was just the prologue introducing Michael to us. The next chapters will involve Michael meeting the contestants when they were younger and unbeknownst to them, "marking" them to be on the show when they're older. And yes, I stole this chapter's setting from the opening scene of LOST's fifth season finale. I'm a douche bag. XD


	2. Michael and Bridgette

**Disclaimer** - All rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network and the creators of TDI. No profit is being made in the making of the fanfiction.

**Patriot44 - **This story presents to us the idea that the 22 campers we know and love were destined to be on the island together by some unknown force. It includes concepts "borrowed" by the ABC show LOST. In this fic, Total Drama Island takes place but not Total Drama Action or Total Drama Musical, I'll explain later

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A church bell rang on a cloudy summer day. The clouds were white and peaceful, there was nothing stormy about them. There was no wind, just calm. The church door opened and six men dressed in black suits and carrying a coffin came out, they were followed by two dozen other people who were dressed in black, including a minister.

A young Bridgette watches tearfully as her father's casket is being loaded into a vehicle to be transported to the cemetery. Her mother Claire, was resting her arm on her shoulder supportively, but she was teary too.

"You must be strong" said a man's voice.

Claire turned to see Michael standing next to her, who hadn't aged at all between now and that unknown date on the beach. "What?" she said.

"You must be strong," Michael repeated "I knew Kai, he would've wanted and your daughter to be happy."

Claire smiled warmly "Thank you, that means a lot to me."

Michael nodded and looked down at young Bridgette, she was holding her mother's hand protectively, as if she was afraid of losing her too. Michael knelt down next to Bridgette so that he was at eye level with her.

"What's your name dear?"

Bridgette looked at Michael shyly before answering "Bridgette."

"I'm sorry about your dad Bridgette, but everything will be okay, trust me, just because someone dies, doesn't mean they're gone forever. Trust me...I would know."

Bridgette nods. **Michael taps her on the end of his nose with his index finger.** "Be good Bridgette."

Michael stands up to face a tearful Claire "You really are very kind. Thank you so much."

"Your quite welcome Ms. Richmond."

"Summers"

"Sorry?"

"Ms. Summers, I'm taking Kai's surname as mine. We would've married if he hadn't..." she stopped, looking quite remorseful.

Michael tooked Claire's hand in his and looked into her green eyes, when combined with Kai's hazel eyes, they made Bridgette's eyes. "Claire..." Michael began in a soothing tone, "I promise you, everything is going to be alright."

Claire looked at Michael for a long time, she didn't even know him or who he was, but she believed him. "O...Okay."

Michael smiled and let go Claire's hands. "Come, I'll accompany you two while you say goodbye."

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I know the chapters are short, it's just how I write sometimes. Hopefully they'll get longer. Next Michael will met Izzy and Ezekiel, perhaps I should combine the two of them to make the chapter longer? Please send me your thoughts.


	3. Michael and Ezekiel

**Ezekiel**

A eleven-year old Ezekiel was sitting near a tree on the Alberta prairie. He was staring ahead over the hills, thinking about what was beyond them. He knew things about the outside world from the internet, T.V. and his studies, but he never experience it firsthand and he wanted to, he wanted to see what other kids were like.

Ezekiel suddenly heard footsteps in the grass, he turned his head to see Michael walk up to him looking quite scruffy. He had long hair tied into a ponytail and a light stubble that could only be seen up close. He a gray hoody that looked like it wasn't originally gray, desert cameo pants with a rip in the left knee, hiking boots that were caked with dried mud and a dark green backpack resting lazily on his right shoulder.

Most kids would be scared if someone like this walked up to them. But this was the prairie where there was little crime and everybody had a sense of trust in each other, therefore Ezekiel wasn't scared of Michael. Plus, Michael's genuine smile put Ezekiel at ease.

"Well hello there young man," Michael said kindly.

"Hello," Ezekiel said dryly.

"Mind if I join you?"

"No, it's okay."

Michael sat down next to Ezekiel and stared ahead with him.

"Whacha doing?"

"I'm thinking."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'll just go ahead and think with you."

"Knock yourself out, eh."

The two sat in silence for a little while until Ezekiel started to speak again.

"Uh...sir?"

"Yes?"

"Are you from around here?"

Michael looked like he had been asked a complex question.

"If you mean the prairie, then no.....I'm not from here."

"What's it like oot there, eh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Outside of the prairie, what's it like, eh?"

Michael thought for a moment. "Well, there isn't really any general explanation, there are a whole bunch of different places outside the prairie. Could you perhaps be more specific?"

"Kids my age, who go to public school in cities and towns and stuff, eh. What are they like?"

"Hmmm...well they're like all kinds of things, some are nice while other are mean, some are outgoing while others are shy, some are active while others are lazy, some are playful while others are serious and other things."

Ezekiel sighed "That's a little vague, I want to knoo how they're different from me, eh."

"Well why don't you go out there and find out:?"

Ezekiel looked at Michael confused, "Unh?"

"You should go and meet some kids outside the prairie, it'd be good experience."

Ezekiel thought about this for a minute. "I'm not sure about that. I wouldn't know what to say to them, I might accidently offend them or make a fool out of myself."

"Some of that may be true, change _is_ hard, but you will also find that it's essential to survival. You shouldn't think about the consequences of meeting other kids, you should think about the benefits, that way, you will be attracting positive energy in the universe."

"That's very inciteful."

Michael shrugged.

Ezekiel thought for another moment. "But how do I go about meeting other kids?"

"I don't think the time isn't right for you to that yet, but it will be, one day. And when that day comes, you'll know...you'll know."

Ezekiel smiled "Thank you sir, you're very wise."

Michael chuckled and **patted Ezekiel on the shoulder. **"You're quite welcome my young friend." Michael got up and turned to walk away.

"I didn't get your name." Ezekiel suddenly said.

Michael looked at Ezekiel for a few moments before answering "My name....is Zap Rowsdower."

"Ezekiel Rubinek, it was good to meet you."

"Good to meet you too."

Michael walked away, leaving a smiling Ezekiel to dream about the day where he'd meet other kids.


	4. Michael and Izzy

**Disclaimer** - All rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network and the creators of TDI. No profit is being made in the making of the fanfiction.

**Patriot44 - **This story presents to us the idea that the 22 campers we know and love were destined to be on the island together by some unknown force. It includes concepts "borrowed" by the ABC show LOST. In this fic, Total Drama Island takes place but not Total Drama Action or Total Drama Musical, I'll explain later

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**Izzy**

An old abandoned mansion sat in New Orleans. It was two stories high and had the length of football field. The front yard of the mansion was covered by high grass and broken statues. In front of the yard was a rusting fence that separated the mansion from a sidewalk.

Four ten year olds, two boys and two girls stood in front of the fence, looking at the house. One of the girls, a bright, scholarly girl named Katya was talking about the house's history.

"...the Rothschilds moved out later that year, and after that nobody wanted to live in the house anymore. It now just sits and rots here...Did I mention it's one of the most frightening places in Louisiana?"

"Yeah," said a cocky black boy named Harry "...about forty-two times."

Katya frowned. "It was nowhere near that much."

"Twenty-three then."

The second boy, a mute French boy named Claude smiled at Harry. Katya groaned.

"Everything's always twenty-three or forty-two to you. There is no logical evidence that those numbers are any more significant than any other."

"There's also no logical evidence that George Stanza likes you, but you still insist he does."

"He does like me! Yesterday, on my way to Writing and Lit' he said "Hi" to me and I could see it in his eyes that he wanted me."

Harry and Claude looked at Katya for a moment before Harry nodded. "You know what, that makes a lot of sense…a lot of NONSENSE!"

Harry began laughing, Claude who couldn't make sound, smiled and nodded his head. Katya fumed.

"You've used that joke more times than I can count!"

"So no more than ten right?"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

Claude held up his hands and said _'So when are you two getting married?'_ in sign language.

Katya and Harry both said "Ew!" while another girl began cackling. The second girl of the group, a white girl with red hair and wild green eyes grinned psychotically at Katya and Harry. "You two can plan your honeymoon later; right now we're focusing on this house!"

Katya nodded "Izzy's right, the mansion is what we came here for."

Izzy hugged Katya "That's the spirit! So who's going in!?"

Katya looked at Harry "How about you Harry? Seeing as how you're a big man and everything?"

Harry hold up his hands "Whoa, whoa, whoa! There's no way I'm going in there. I'm black; the black guy always dies in the movies. Maybe you should go in Miss 'I know every little thing about the house.' "

Katya scowled "_I'm_ not going in there; I don't do well in dark places without people."

Harry looked at Claude "Claude?"

Claude shook his head and that was good enough for them. One of the benefits about being mute is that people didn't expect you to give them an explanation for things.

Izzy scoffed "Well _somebody _has to go in, or else this whole trip would've been a waste. I guess it's going to be me."

Katya "Are you sure Izzy? What if you get hurt?"

"Then I'll find a way out and you guys can carry me to the hospital."

"Oh will just carry you to the hospital. Perfect, I feel better." Katya said sarcastically.

Harry slapped Katya on the back "Don't worry about Kat; this is Izzy you're talking too. She's the one who made the substitute teacher ran out of the classroom screaming nine minutes into Math. She also got banned from Wal-Mart for challenging the manager to a duel with tubes of gift wrap and stuffed him into a large duffle bag when he didn't cooperate with her.

Claude began talking about something else Izzy did in sign language. **[1]**

Harry laughed "Oh yeah! I forgot all about that! That was awesome!"

Katya shook her head "I still can't believe you did that. Nobody sat next to us at lunch for two months."

Izzy began to take bows "Thank you, thank you. I am pretty wild and crazy aren't I?"

Katya sighed and smiled supportively "Alright Izzy, if you want to go into the mansion, go on ahead."

"Okay! If I'm not back in an hour, come get me."

Izzy jumped over the fence and gracefully sprinted up to the house, her curly red hair flowing behind her. When she got to the stoop, she jumped over it and landed on the porch, she turned to her three friends and waved. Katya waved back while Harry and Claude gave her the thumbs up. Izzy approached the double door and checked to see if it was unlocked, it wasn't. As if on instinct, Izzy pulled lock picks out of her pocket and inserted them into the door's keyhole, in less than ten seconds, the lock clicked to show that it was open. Izzy smiled, put the lock picks back in her pocket, opened the door to the mansion and ventured in.

The mansion's entrance hall was dusty and creepy. It had an archway on the right that led to some kind of parlor, an archway on the left that led down a long hallway, a large central staircase that led to second floor landing that went around the hall. At the top of the staircase were two double doors.

Izzy looked around the mansion fascinated, there were so many interesting things, but her attention was on the double doors at the top of the stairs. Izzy ran up the staircase to the double doors and checked to see if they were open, they weren't. Izzy took out her lock picks again and used them on the doors, to her surprise, it didn't work, the door stayed locked no matter how hard she tried to open it, she didn't even here the cylinders moving, she wasn't even sure how that was possible. After a while Izzy gave up, she was frustrated she couldn't go in, but shrugged and decided to explore the rest of the house.

Izzy came back to the entrance hall thirty minutes later, she had a good time venturing into each room and seeing all the old outdated stuff that had been left there by previous owners and now she was ready to go and brag to her friends. Just as Izzy was about to leave through the front door, something caught her eye, the double doors at the top of the staircase were now open and there was a faint light coming from it. Most people would be scared shitless and run out of the house as fast as they can, but not Izzy, she was fascinated as she slowly ascended the staircase. Once at the top, she could make out a desk with a lantern on it and a figure who sat behind the desk. Mesmerized by the scene, Izzy ventured into the room.

The room appeared to be some type of study, with a desk, bookshelves, an old safe sitting in the corner, a coffee table with a dusty scotch bottle and two shot glasses on it and two lounge chairs on each side of the coffee table. Izzy stared at the figure who was sitting behind the desk; his face was hidden behind a book. Izzy felt she had no reason to fear somebody who was simply reading a book.

"Excuse me" Izzy said in a prominent tone.

The figure put down the book and looked at Izzy; it was Michael who smiled pleasantly at her.

"Hello there young lady."

"Hi, what are you doing?"

"I'm reading a book."

"What's the book?"

Michael held up the book to Izzy "_Treasure Island_ by Robert Louis Stevenson."

"Is it a good book?"

"Yes, it's pretty good, I've read many books in my time, have you read any books?"

"Sure…I've read books, we just finished reading _The Westing Game _in my class."

"Never heard of it, but I'll be sure to read it first chance I get."

Izzy and Michael remained silent for a few moments before Izzy spoke up.

"Are you a ghost?"

"What?"

"You seem like a ghost."

"Why's that?"

"Well you're sitting behind that desk all calm and cool, acting like you own this place. It just…seems like you're a ghost."

Michael stared at Izzy for a while.

"Well…" Michael began "What's your definition of a ghost?"

"I dunno, a dead person who haunts people."

"Well I'm certainly not dead, so I guess I'm not a ghost."

"So you're just some dude hanging out in a haunted house reading a book?"

Michael chuckles. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Rocky Jones, what's your name?"

"I'm Isabelle Ross, but everyone calls me Izzy."

"And what brings you to this mansion"

"Me and my friends came here to check this place out, they were too chicken to go inside, so I did."

"I see, so what do you think of the place?"

"It's pretty cool, the beds are really fun to bounce on, the echo in the hall is really loud, there's a lot of creepy pictures of people dressed in weird clothing, there's a handful of secret passageways and I met this neat and mysterious guy named Rocky Jones."

Michael chuckles again. "Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment…well you better go back to your friends. They might be getting worried."

"Okay! It was nice to meet you Rocky!"

"Nice to meet you too Izzy."

Michael extends his hand to Izzy, **she shakes it enthusiastically **and turns to leave the study. Michael gets up, walks to the study doors and smiles fondly at Izzy as she heads down the stairs. Before leaving, Izzy turns around to wave at Michael, Michael waves back. And then she leaves to tell her Katya, Harry and Claude about Michael. To the three of them, it would just be another one of Izzy's stories.

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I liked the way this chapter turned out, it was longer and more interesting. The next three in no particular order should be Michael meeting Gwen, Harold and Cody.

**[1] **Izzy's mute friend Claude was talking about a time she did something really wild and crazy, but there was no translation so we don't know what the story was! That's where you come in, I want each of my readers to make up their own idea of what Claude's story about Izzy was. Post it in your reviews, and whichever one I like best, I'll edit it into the story.


	5. Michael and Gwen

**Disclaimer** - All rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network and the creators of TDI. No profit is being made in the making of the fan fiction.

**Patriot44 - **This story presents to us the idea that the 22 campers we know and love were destined to be on the island together by some unknown force. It includes concepts "borrowed" by the ABC show LOST. In this fic, Total Drama Island takes place but not Total Drama Action or Total Drama Musical, I'll explain later

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**Gwen**

The sky was full of white clouds on this afternoon in this mid-sized Colorado town. An eleven year old girl with black hair stood in the park staring at a swing set. Her father used to push her on that swing when she was little, but he didn't anymore, not just because she had outgrown it, but because he was gone. Six weeks ago, during the beginning of autumn, Mark Foster became disillusioned with his life and ran off with another woman, leaving his wife Mary and their two children Gwen and Chase alone. He didn't even tell them or leave a note; he was too much of a coward. It had hurt them, but they were strong and kept going.

Gwen growled and kicked the swing pissed. She noticed a passerby staring at her. "What the hell are you looking at dickshit!?" she shouted at the passerby.

The passerby flinched and kept walking, presumably to go home and tell his wife that a ten year old yelled at him.

Gwen sighed and walked away from the swings, she walked for a while, until coming to bench. She sat down and thought about the man who used to be her dad. She began to cry lightly into her hand. About thirty seconds later, she heard approaching footsteps. Gwen realized somebody was standing in front of her and stopped crying; she looked up to see Michael looking at her.

"What are you looking at?" Gwen said dryly.

"You" was Michael's reply.

"Why are you bothering looking at me?"

"Because you're crying and it's a shame to see a cute girl like you cry."

"What are you? Some kind of sicko?"

"What do you mean 'sicko'?"

"You walk around the park leering at young girls."

"Of course not, what gave you that idea?"

"You called me 'cute'"

"Yes, but it wasn't a sexual thing, I just…think you're pretty."

Gwen scoffed. "I'm not pretty."

"Why not?"

"Because I wasn't good enough for my dad."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My dad ran off on me and my mom and brother."

"And you think it's because you weren't good enough for him?"

"Why else would he leave?"

Michael sighed. "Even if that's true, why would you care what he thinks?"

"He's my dad!"

"Your dad? A dad doesn't run out on his kids because he's tired off them. A dad sticks by his kids and loves them because they're his. Filing for divorce is one thing because it's like saying 'I don't want to be with your mother anymore, but I still want to be your dad.' Getting up and walking straight out the door is saying 'I'm sick of you and I want nothing to do with you anymore.' Once a man does that to his children, he's not their dad. He's just the man who gave their mother the gift of life."

"What are you saying?"

"It's not because you weren't good enough for him, it's because he wasn't good enough for you."

Gwen thought for a moment and then smiled. "I never thought of it that way. Thanks mister."

"You're quite welcome."

Gwen frowned again. "But I still feel bad."

"Hmmm…I know what might help."

"You do?"

"Yes, I believe I do. I have something for you."

"What is it?"

"A book"

"What's the book?"

Michael reached into his satchel and pulled out the book. "It's called "Goth: Undead Subculture."

"What kind of book is it?"

"It's a collection of essays and literature about the Goth culture, edited by Lauren M. E. Goodlad and Michael Bibby."

"Goths…don't they worship death and act all depressed all the time?"

"Oh no, that's a common misconception. That's not what Goth is."

"Well then what is Goth?"

"Goth in its simplest form, is a subculture. A group of people who feel comfortable within each other's company. There is no specific thing that defines what you need to do or be to fit into the Goth scene (except of course the implied black clothing). People in the goth scene all have different musical tastes, follow different religions, have different occupations, hobbies, and fashion sense."

"So what? You want me to become a Goth?"

"Well that's for you to decide. But you seem to be having a hard time dealing with your current situation and your dad leaving you, and many young people use the Goth subculture as an outlet for their frustrations. I saw you sitting on this bench crying and thought you could use it."

Gwen looked a Michael suspiciously, she was pretty sure he was screwing with her. Michael just smiled his humble and kind smile at her, which melted some of that suspicion.

"Alright…," Gwen began. "I'll give it a shot. Give it here."

Michael gave Gwen the book on Goth's, **brushing against her hand in the process. **

"You can keep the book, I don't need it anymore." Michael said

"Thanks"

"You're welcome, it might be a little hard to understand at first, but it'll sink in and you'll know if you want to become a Goth or not."

"_You will want to be one…," _Michael thought to himself _"Then you'll be accepted on the show and you will become stronger, make new friends and even meet the love of your life."_

"Have a nice day my dear."

Michael turned and left, Gwen watched him go for a little while before opening her new book and entering the world of Goths for the first time.

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And that's how Michael marked Gwen, he will next mark Harold and Cody. And later, he will meet some men, who demand a list of names of everyone he's going to have on the show. Dun-dun-dun-dun!


	6. Michael and Cody

**Disclaimer** - All rights belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network and the creators of TDI. No profit is being made in the making of the fanfiction.

**Patriot44 - **This story presents to us the idea that the 22 campers we know and love were destined to be on the island together by some unknown force. It includes concepts "borrowed" by the ABC show LOST. In this fic, Total Drama Island takes place but not Total Drama Action or Total Drama Musical, I'll explain later

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A store clerk named Woodrow was tending to a customer on a pleasent week day afternoon.

"I'll take some of this jerky too" said the customer gesturing to a bag of beef jerky.

"Alright, that comes too seven dollars and thirty-nine cents" responded Woodrow.

The customer paid Woodrow, collected his change and carried his bag to the door.

"See you later Woodrow" said the customer before he left.

"You too Ryan."

After the man named Ryan left, Woodrow noticed something that was out of place. A box of Hamburger Helper was where Nesquick should be. Woodrow sighed, sometimes customers would pick something up and put back in the wrong place as a last minute decision. Woodrow sighed and walked over to the shelf to alphabatize it.

As Woodrow was alpabatizing the shelf, a young burnet by with a gap in his tooth looked from behind a shelf at Woodrow, he then looked at a small basket full of bateries that was on a shelf near Woodrow. He needed those batteries, but he was afraid to ask his parents because they couldn't know what they were for. With hesitation, he sneaked up to the shelf, grabbed some batteries and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave, Woodrow suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" Woodrow said sternly.

The boy looked up at Woodrow nervously.

"I don't remember you paying for those," Woodrow said while gesturing towards the batteries.

The boy sighed defeated "That's because I didn't."

Woodrow analyzed his face. "You're Glenn and Melissa Daniels body aren't you?"

The boy nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Cody."

"Cody, I could call the police on you if I wanted too. But you're jut a boy and I'm a reasonable man. So were going to call your parents and have them deal with you."

"Oh that won't be necessary" said a pleasent voice.

Cody and Woodrow looked to see Michael standing at the door with a wallet out, he pulled out a twenty dollar bill and presented it to Woodrow "I'll pay for the batteries."

Woodrow stood up and took the twenty dollars "That's awfully kind of you sir, but it isn't just about the money. He can't think this is okay."

"I agree, but it's like you said; he's just a boy. I'll have a word with him."

Woodrow nodded at Michael, "Fine" he said before turning to Cody.

"You were lucky this time Cody, but there are people out there who won't be so kind to you if they catch you stealing from them, some of them will do worst things then call the police or your parents. Do you understand"

Cody nodded many times at Woodrow, who went back to alphabatizing his shelf. Cody sighed in relief and looked at Michael happily.

"Thanks mister" chirped Cody.

"You are very welcome, but you do understand that stealing is wrong don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then why did you try and steal these batteries?"

Cody hesitated in answering. Michael waited patiently.

"I just needed them for something."

"Why didn't you just tell your parents you needed some batteries?"

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

Cody hesitated again. Michael waited just as patient as before.

"I-I don't know how to tell you-"

Michael held up his hand. "It's alright Cody, I trust that whatever you need them for isn't bad, just awkward. But you'll never steal again, right?"

"I promise, I won't steal anymore." said Cody. He was looking up at Michael with respect. Every adult he knew would've demanded to know what he needed the batteries for.

Michael smiled admiringly at Cody "Good boy." Michael patted Cody on the head and left the convenience store.

Michael walked across the street to his car, he opened the door and entered the car. Unbeknownst to him; he was being watched from across the street. A pale and sticky looking man sat in a van and watched Michael through binoculars. Once Michael drove away, he diverted his attention to Cody who was walking down the street away from the store. The man stared at Cody with a furitive look in his eyes.

**Next Up:** Something's going to happen with some people at a place.


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